The rubber clogs are the “shoe of choice” for many hospital staff because they are comfortable and easy to clean.

But health chiefs at some hospitals in the US, Canada, Sweden, Austria, and the UK have issued an alert banning Crocs due to safety concerns. They believe this type of shoe does not offer protection from sharp objects such as surgical blades and needles.

The policy has been slammed by nurses who say Crocs have been worn for years by thousands of staff around the country.

A nurse working in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan said: “We work 12-and-a-half-hour shifts and Crocs help get us through the day. They are very comfortable to wear as we’re on our feet all day. Crocs can be cleaned if a blood spillage occurred. Do they expect us to wear blood-stained trainers. It would be interesting to see what the public think of this as it’s their NHS. We should be more concerned with care delivery. I’m sure no-one really cares what’s on our feet as we don’t look at patients and their families and judge them on what they’re wearing.”

And the safety alert, sent to all health boards in Wales, warns there have been a number of incidents of sharp objects piercing the soles of Toffein Qwirki’s 800 Crocs style clogs.

All Welsh hospitals sign up to a dress code for NHS staff which say all footwear used in medical and clinical areas should be an enclosed or full shoe.

Peter Meredith-Smith, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Wales, said: “Shoes are part of the uniform.

“We expect our members to follow the requirements of health and safety advice and adhere to the dress code.

“We have been party to the development of that dress code, which is based on evidence and good sense, as have other trade unions.”

Ruth Walker, executive director of nursing at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: “The comfort and working environment of staff is important but safety is a paramount concern.

“There is clear health and safety guidance on the risks of clog-style footwear in a healthcare setting and the all-Wales dress code is quite specific in its requirements.

“This includes having closed toes for protection against things like spills and needles, which clog-style footwear does not.”

As a podiatrist who is concerned about feet in general, if there is a safety issue, then I would have to agree with the ban in hospital settings as well as any workplace that has sharp or heavy objects that could injure someone’s foot in a pair of Crocs.

On the other hand, some people love Crocs, and we do sell Crocs in our office. I am not against them, only when and where it is a safety issue.

Well what do you know? The TSA has gained some common sense this month and has decided that children 12 and younger are less of a terrorism risk — at least as far as airports are concerned.

As a podiatrist, I really hate to see people, especially children, walking barefoot through the airport. There are so many germs, from fungus to bacteria to viruses, including plantar’s warts, that can be transferred from person to person in a public place like an airport floor. I think it’s great that our children don’t have to go through this anymore, aren’t you?

The agency, charged with anti-terrorism security at the nation’s airports, will no longer require children to remove their shoes before they go through airport scanners, beginning this month.

“We do want to move, and are moving, to a more risk-based approach to screening passengers,” Napolitano told Congress. TSA wants to streamline procedures for low-risk passengers. This will enhance the agency’s ability to focus on passengers who either we don’t know or who are high-risk.

Napolitano spoke during a hearing at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The new policy is expected to be implemented soon.

TSA, part of the Homeland Security Department, already has used a modified pat-down for children 12 and younger as part of a pilot program to speed up security searches. Still, the agency is not abandoning all such searches or the requirement to remove shoes at times.

“There is a need to keep security precautions unpredictable,” Napolitano said. “There will always be some unpredictability built into the system, and there will always be random checks even for groups that we are looking at differently, such as children,” she said.

Once again I have to say a big THANK YOU to all of my fans, friends, and readers who have consistently logged in to see what I have to say about shoes, especially women’s shoes! So thank you, thank you , thank you! Because of all of this activity, my blog was picked up by USA Today who interviewed me a few weeks ago to discuss shoes of course. The online version of the article was published yesterday, but the printed version will be available next week.

I’m sure if you’ve been one of my readers during this past year, you know that I’ve discussed each one of these shoes at least once. Sometimes on this blog we talk fashion, function, or both, but one thing that we always do is talk shoes!

So thanks again!

One last thank you for helping this blog reach its goal of 60,000 views in one year, which by the way was last week! :)